History Characters / GameOfThronesTheOrderOfTheMaesters

* WizardBeard: Despite the fact that Maesters are ''not'' magic users, Pycelle most certainly has one. Tyrion has Bronn cut most of it off when arresting him, mostly [[KickTheSonOfABitch because he can.]]

* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: In the books Pycelle's head is smashed in. In the show he is stabbed by Qyburn's little birds.

* BrainDrain: On account of the social disfavour Westeros regards Maesters with, and it's greater focus on martial accomplishments, the "best and brightest" i.e., the most driven, ambitious and intelligent minds of Westeros rarely go to the Citadel. After all if you are someone like Bronn or Littlefinger, both being incredibly smart and skilled but ambitious and seeking fortune and fame, why would you possibly devote yourself to an organization which decides, on your behalf, your calling, your station, and which forbids you from marrying and having children. Then you have the actual academic culture of the organization with its TallPoppySyndrome and the result is that genuinely intelligent and great scholars like Samwell Tarly and Qyburn decide to more or less say ScrewThisImOuttaHere while other maesters who are skilled and talented get nowhere.

* ForWantOfANail: He mentions that he refused his birthright to become King, so the crown passed to his younger brother instead. Who then passed it to his son, who became the Mad King and inspired Robert's Rebellion. It boggles the mind how differently everything might have turned out if Aemon had taken the job.

** He's disgusted by Qyburn's human experimentation as he feels that human experimentation is a perversion of the healing arts.

* ForTheGreaterGood: For all his faults, he genuinely believes he is doing what is best for the Citadel and the realm, even if Sam and the viewer knows he is going about it the wrong way.
** When dealing with Greyscale, due to the repeated failures of the procedure, he ships the afflicted off to Valyria (if you can't cure it, get it away so that it doesn't infect others).
** He has brought up the fact that the common folk always seem to believe the sky is falling with every tiny change to the status quo, and that the army of the dead from the Long Night is no different. However, with it being a very real threat now, he doesn't see it as any different as long as the Wall still stands, and thus believes it is in everyone's best interest that the Maesters keep going about their normal business.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Pretends to be an AbsentMindedProfessor in order to fly under the radar. It obviously has served him well, as he's managed to survive in the DecadentCourt of King's Landing for sixty-seven years. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMXJlUIQP94 A deleted scene from Season 3 makes this extremely explicit]]. His physical, intellectual and oratory abilities would make him more than a match for the mighty Tywin Lannister if he so chose to be. This was something Julian Glover contributed to the role. He's remarkably spry for his age and suggested that this be included. The producers agreed and so included the scene in "Fire and Blood" where he exercises.

* HumiliationConga: Tyrion, Bronn, and Timett, son of Timett, come to arrest him while he is with a whore, cut off his beard, and threaten to [[CallBack cut off his manhood and feed it to the goats]]. [[labelnote:From the books...]]In the books, it was Tyrion and Shagga, son of Dolf, and Shagga ''did'' cut off his manhood... Which, in a brilliant little piece of UnEntendre, it turns out meant the beard.[[/labelnote]] In Season 4, Pycelle goes a more subtle but well-deserved conga. He's increasingly delegated to menial tasks as Cersei's patience with him wears thin, and Pycelle finds himself essentially replaced by Qyburn. He no longer commands the respect he once had or his coveted position with the Lannisters.